My Code of Honor.

"Nothing can hold you back when you're not holding back a thing. I'll give an oath against the shadows, denying the dark. Fight till the break of dawn."

In my World History II class, we were studying knights and chivalry and the like. All of the students had to create a code of honor-- the principles that are most important to us, that we feel we must always live by. I thought I'd share mine, and then explain the reasoning behind some of them. :) There were only supposed to be ten for the assignment, but oh well. I did eleven.

I. Never take revenge on anyone, in any form.

II. Stand up for humanity.

III. Never abandon the ones who lean on you, in times of need and in times of plenty.

IV. Respect and obey authority.

V. Love all, no matter the cost.

VI. Don't hoard possessions, time, money, or emotional support.

VII. Always truly listen before speaking.

VIII. Realize that you are not perfect; never be too prideful to ask for help.

IX. Give the benefit of the doubt, even when unearned.

X. Trust, but with discernment.

XI. Seek excellence in all; never settle for mediocrity.


Now for the explanations.. I won't explain every one of them; some are pretty straightforward.

Explanation for II (Stand up for humanity).
This one is interesting, actually. Every so often I hear the phrase, "People suck." Actually I hear that phrase a lot, as my friends are firm believers that this is the truth. Most of the time I have to agree. Even as much as this phrase may prove right, however, I also believe that every human has potential. Before we meet God, we can't really know our true potential. But still. Everyone has something to give, something positive about themselves that can benefit someone else. I don't care how bad they may seem. There's always something good. And every opportunity I get, I stand up for humanity. And I think that other people should too.

Explanation for VI (Don't hoard possessions, time, money, or emotional support).
I think one of the most important things to realize is that people are worth giving ourselves for. And when people think of keeping something from someone in need, they think of stuff, like money mainly. But I think that its just as bad to keep your time and the like from someone who needs it. Or especially emotional support. I know that I'm a little biased in this area, as I need a lot of emotional support from my friends. But because I know what its like to be on the side of needing it, I know how important it is to give it. One of the worst feelings in the world is when you are pouring your heart out to your friend, and he or she is giving you half-attention, half-hearted responses, and metaphorically (or literally) glancing at their watches the whole time you're spilling your soul. Its terrible. That's why I try really hard to focus my complete attention on the emotional issue at hand, and how I can emotionally support that person. Because when you're hurting and you need someone, you need all of them. Having only half of them just makes it hurt more.

Explanation for IX (Give the benefit of the doubt, even when unearned).
Hmm... This one is sort of hard to explain, although I feel it warrants explanation. I guess I should just say that I know what it feels like to not be trusted. I know what it feels like to lie and be trusted, and then be found out. That's pain, and shame. And then when you try to fix it, and you try to tell the truth, no one will believe you. That's so, so hard. I know that many times people who have lied don't care that they hurt you, and don't want to change. That they'll just lie again if given the chance. And I'm not advocating blindly trusting everyone. But.. If someone asks for a chance and their track record doesn't support it, hey. I believe people can change. I believe people can be good. Yeah, it gets me hurt sometimes, but you know what? I'd want to be hurt by five liars to give one person an honest chance to make a new track record.

Explanation for X (Trust, but with discernment).
This is pretty much the explanation for the one above, so, yeah. Refer up there.

Explanation for XI (Seek excellence in all; never settle for mediocrity).
As my close friends would tell you, I enjoy shooting high. I absolutely despise when people don't live up to their potential. It makes me CRAZY. There's nothing that makes me more angry than wasted potential. For me, settling for mediocrity is not an option. Its just not. This can get me in trouble sometimes, because it tends to lean me toward perfectionism and frustration with myself for not being perfect. But I'd rather that be my mistake than just giving up and completely wasting what I've been given. And I pretty much expect the same of everyone else.. Maybe that's not good, but I think its been helpful to people who I interact with who are wasting their potential. I tell them to bring it! And then they tell me to calm down. Its a good system, really..

So, that's my code of honor.

vanessa((